Photography

Suspended in silence

Photography

Photographer Tom Jacobi devoted two years to searching for subjects in gray, the color of dusk. He commentates some of his compositions – color photos, not black and white – for Lufthansa Magazin

NAMIB DESERT, Namibia
Silence reigns absolute here in the Deadvlei clay pan. I call the photo ‘Zen’ because for me it symbolizes contem­plation, life reduced to its essence. This har­monizes beautifully with the leading role of the color gray in all religions. Legend has it that Buddha received enlightenment early in the morning, before the sun rose and bathed the world in color. Jesus is said to have been born at night, and it was also nighttime when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Prophet Muhammad.”

NEW MEXICO, United States
“I chanced upon this formation, which I call ‘The Wall’, on my way to the sacred Navajo rocks. It reminds me of the Berlin Wall, and looks like it was planted in the middle of the landscape by a giant."

NEW MEXICO, United States
"I purposely sought out the ‘King of Wings’ after discovering it online in a geology forum. I was immediately fascinated, but was made to beg long and hard before I was given the GPS coordinates.”

WILDLIFE PARK, Australia
“This was like nothing I had ever seen before: Rising from the seemingly endless expanse of outback near Hyden, Wave Rock (15 meters high and over 100 meters long), looks exactly like a frozen wall of water in mid-swell. Time seems to pretty much stand still in this region, as well: The men hereabouts wear hats and short leather boots, and none of the bars in the nearby town serve food you really want to eat. Once I had my photo, I was happy to be able to get back on the road.”

SNÆFELLSNES, Iceland
“Kirkjufell Mountain features on the cover of my book. The picture is special to me. You can only capture the mountain’s reflection when there is absolutely no wind, and this is extremely rare in Iceland! I had given up and was heading for the airport when the wind suddenly dropped. I turned back, and rescheduled my flight. As you can see, it was worth it!”

PATAGONIA, Argentina
“Periito Moreno Glacier has been photographed very many times, but it has lost none of its magic. Standing at the top, you almost want to pinch yourself because the panorama before you appears so unreal: black rocks against white ice with a hint of shimmering blue. Hollywood’s set designers couldn’t have done a better job.”